Matt Ackley says, “So you’ve tagged your site. You’ve identified some interesting audience segments. You’ve got some great data, and you are ready to go! However, data only gets you to the door. The creative is what gets you through (and keeps you in the room). Now, look at your creative execution and compare it to your high-level marketing strategy — how closely aligned would you say they are? Marketers get jazzed about programmatic due to the promise of big data — the promise of delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. However, brands quickly learn... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “In an effort to reach consumers amidst multiple assaults on their ads, many marketers have embraced native advertising. But the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has concerns, and markets and publishers could soon find themselves at risk if they aren’t careful. At the Clean Ads I/O conference in New York last week, Mary Engle, the FTC’s associate director of advertising practices, told attendees that the FTC is uneasy with native advertising that users can’t distinguish as advertising, making them deceptive. “An ad is deceptive if... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “In the wake of the Great Recession of 2008, Wall Street’s reputation took a big hit, but the online advertising market could soon find itself functioning a lot like a Wall Street trading desk. As Alexandra Bruell details in an AdAge piece, a number of adtech upstarts are working to build futures markets in which media buyers and sellers transact for future inventory. She explains: As with crude oil and corn, a futures market for digital media would invite industry players and financiers to bet, through online exchanges, on the future price of media inventory“. Is... [...]

David Rekuc says, “Digital advertising is a crowded space, and the modern consumer is constantly pulled in different directions, so it’s no surprise that the industry’s overall click-through rate hovers at around a mere .06 percent. Related: Everything Business Owners Need to Know About Beacons Put another way, that small percentage means that only one in every 1,667 display ads gets clicked. But, don’t despair! Targeting people who have previously interacted with your business is more likely to earn you a click, versus targeting those unfamiliar with your brand. And to do that,... [...]

William Johnson says, “yber-attack – the event and its consequences are not new to online merchants. Most of those who promise secured transactions to customers have had an experience of customers complaining about faulty transactions and other security breaches. Magento, Joomla and even any ecommerce platform including CMS, plugin and extensions are susceptible to such phishing attacks. Unlike the traditional phishing techniques through social media and emails, hackers are now finding new ways to add a bunch of malicious codes to the ecommerce sites and thus bypassing all the sensitive data... [...]

Lara O’Reilly says, “The digital advertising sector is a complex one. It has been a rocky few months for the ad tech sector.The overall value of public ad tech company stocks fell 12% in the first quarter, according to tech investment bank LUMA Partners. Of those companies who underwent the high-profile IPO process, many – such as Tremor Video, Rocket Fuel, and Millennial Media – while growing revenue, also notched up huge multi-million dollar net losses in the last financial year ($23.5 million, $64 million, and $149 million, respectively.) The sector has been fraught... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “As a working understanding of data management has become an integral aspect of of digital marketing, particularly with the growth of programmatic buying and selling, the IAB is extending its certification programs to include Digital Data Solutions. The certification program is designed to establish a benchmark of proficiency for people working in digital advertising, including marketers, agencies, publishers and vendors and increase the number of executives whose skills are up to date on digital data solutions. “Data convergence is one of the most important changes... [...]

Andrew Freedman says, “When it comes to walling ourselves off from opposing political views using social media, we are our own worst enemies. That’s the conclusion of a new study by three researchers affiliated with Facebook, published today in the prominent journal Science. The study examined data from 10.1 million Facebook users to find out how frequently we’re exposed to stories from people with political views different than our own. There are, it turns out, concrete reasons why our newsfeeds look like they do. Stand back, Facebook conspiracy theorists: according to the study,... [...]

Seth Fiegerman says, “Big Blue is teaming up with the world’s most popular blue app. Facebook and IBM announced on Wednesday that they will put some of their advertising tools and experts together to help big companies more closely personalize their marketing to customers. The collaboration allows the two Big Blues to double down on big advertisers. The partnership should add an incentive for IBM’s Fortune 500 roster of clients to come closer to Facebook, which is looking for more advertising revenue. IBM, in turn, can now take advantage of the incredible wealth of data about... [...]

Ted Prodromou says, “We’ve all seen ads that grab our attention. But we’ve also seen ads that leave us speechless, wondering what the heck the advertiser was trying to accomplish. So how can you create text and banner ads on LinkedIn that attract your target audience? It starts with writing effective headlines. The key to writing successful online ads is to put yourself in the shoes of the person who’s reading your ad. Imagine how they’re feeling. Feel their pain points. Understand why they’re frustrated. Once you get into their heads, you can write ads that will grab... [...]